A middleman can have several definitions and there’s often confusion about what we at WorldwideBrands.com mean by “middleman.” According to Webster’s Dictionary, a middleman is a dealer, agent, or company that acts as an intermediary between the producer of goods and the retailer or consumer. Synonyms include broker, go-between, and intermediary.
This is the definition we refer to when discussing middlemen that retailers should avoid. A middle man doesn’t have a warehouse or deliver products; they simply pass orders to the actual company, which then delivers the products to the retailer or consumer.
Some people mistakenly define a middle man as a company that buys products from manufacturers and then wholesales them. We disagree with this definition. A company that purchases from manufacturers and wholesales to retailers is simply a wholesaler. If the manufacturer doesn’t wholesale directly to retailers, they may use a factory-authorized distributor.
It’s important to note that we do not consider any company that holds inventory to be a middleman.
No Middlemen Allowed
In our Wholesaler and Dropshipper Directory, we only list manufacturers and factory-authorized distributors. If a manufacturer won’t work with retailers, we contact their factory-authorized distributors. We do not list plain wholesalers or sub-wholesalers (wholesalers that purchase from other wholesalers).
Working with a middleman or sub-wholesaler means you won’t get the best wholesale prices because these “wholesalers” increase the wholesale cost. You could buy cheaper by going directly to the source. This is why so many online retailers love our Directory at WorldwideBrands.com. We provide top-level wholesalers to our members for the best prices and superior service, cutting out the middlemen that are rampant online. It’s all part of our wholesale scam protection.
We meticulously verify the information we gather from wholesale companies and often reject listings that don’t meet our criteria. Our goal is to protect our members and their consumers by providing them with the best possible resources.